This invention relates to a method of operating a multi-station communication network and to communication apparatus usable to implement the method.
International patent application no. WO 96/19887 describes a communication network in which individual stations in the network can send messages to other stations by using intermediate stations to relay the message data in an opportunistic manner. In networks of this kind, and in other multi-station networks, it is desirable to control the output power of transmitting stations to a level which is sufficient for successful reception of transmitted data, but which is otherwise as low as possible, to minimise interference with nearby stations or with other users of the radio frequency spectrum.
It is an object of the invention to provide a method of operating a multi-station communication network which addresses the above objective.